A Port Orchard marina fire has destroyed at least six boats. In a statement issued by Washington officials, it was revealed that it took more than 50 firefighters to stop the blaze, which caused over $2 million in damages.
A Port Orchard marina fire has caused more than $2 million in damages but thankfully no one was injured. On Sunday at around 3 a.m., a Washington paramedic passing by the Port Orchard Yacht Club as he was taking a patient to Harrison Hospital, spotted the massive fire and called 911 to report it.
More than 50 firefighters from Kitsap County, Bremerton, North Mason County, and the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard worked together to tame the wild flames. While the heroic firefighters were able to save 38 vessels and boathouses, the blaze destroyed 10 structures, sank six boats along with their houses – all the damage is estimated at $2 million. South Kitsap Division Chief Jeff Faucett confirmed that no one was injured, and added:
“The aggressive attack by this crew here today saved, literally, hundreds of thousands, if not a million dollars’ worth of vessels that are out there.”
Immediately after the fire was fully contained, the U.S. Coast Guard and Department of Ecology arrived on the scene to investigate another unintentional consequence of the blaze – a large diesel spill. Crews estimate there were about 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel on the 6 boats that were destroyed, but it is not yet known how much of it was spilled. Officials say it might take up to a week to clean up.
Lt. Cmdr. Jason Hagan, incident management division chief, and Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound explained that they have placed absorbent material in the marina “to mitigate the pollution in the water,” and added:
“We have responders on scene to monitor the situation and cleanup efforts.Our goal is to mitigate any environmental damage through a collaborative effort with our agency partners, cleanup personnel and the facility. We are also very grateful that none of the fire responders and no one at the yacht club was hurt.”
Investigators are still trying to figure out what started the blaze.
#POYC boat fire, Friend spared says, "Devastating loss of some beautiful boats" @KaraKostanich has more #liveonkomo pic.twitter.com/gAaVzQXaaD
— Denise Whitaker (@deniseonKOMO) March 20, 2016
